Controversial ruling can't be appealed

The Sports Xchange

The SportsXchangeSeptember 25, 2012

The NFL has no appeals process in place to overturn the disputed call that gave the Seattle Seahawks a 14-12 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Monday night. The league plans to issue a formal statement on the highly controversial ruling by replacement referees sometime Tuesday. But there's no way for the Packers to win a reversal, according to the NFL. "There's no provision for that in our rules," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello toldto USA Today on Tuesday morning. Replays indicated that Packers cornerback M.D. Jennings had possession of the pass in the end zone, but referees awarded the catch to Seattle's Golden Tate after the two wrestled for the ball on the turf. One official signaled touchdown and the other indicated an interception. The NFL rulebook states: "If a pass is caught simultaneously by two eligible opponents, and both retain it, the ball belongs to the passers. It is not a simultaneous catch if a player gains control first and an opponent subsequently gains joint control." The rules further stipulate that a simultaneous catch can't be reviewed to determine which player had possession but only if the pass was complete or incomplete.